The public outcry against the mass drownings of desperate people at the hands of slave traders demands a solution. But the solution offered by Empire does not include eradication of poverty or resolution of wars. It is military intervention.

The pan-Africanist spirit is alive and strong, but building a solid Pan African Movement remains a big challenge – as witnessed in the Pan African Congress in Accra, Ghana, in March. A Pan Africanist political culture must be inculcated, nurtured and institutionalized throughout the six regions of the African world.

The EU’s new policy is to let as many refugees as possible drown in the Mediterranean to deter others from attempting similar voyages. Yet these refugees are often fleeing from wars and miseries created by the West and its allies.

When we commemorate May Day we rarely reflect on why it is a public holiday in Africa or elsewhere. Sian Byrne, Paliani Chinguwo, Warren McGregor, and Lucien van der Walt tell of the powerful struggles that lie behind its existence.

Mere ‘be-nice’ appeals and marches will not address the root causes of xenophobia in South Africa. Jacob Zuma’s ANC government is at fault not only for neoliberal, pro-corporate, job-killing policies, but for tightening immigration regulations, compelling refugees to live under illegal informality. That requires resistance.

At times like this you can almost forget the good and gentle South Africans you have met over the years. The slow Sunday brunches after a foray into the Mall when everybody calls you ‘My sister’…

When refugees from the Indian subcontinent, sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America and other places risk their lives for a chance at low-wage precarious labor in Europe or the US, it's because of decisions taken at the center of global economic and political power, places like Washington D, London, Brussels and New York.

The government of Swaziland must fully respect the rights of Chief Justice Ramodibedi, Justices Anandale and Simelane, Registrar Nhlabatsi and Mr. Shongwe, as accused persons.

Drawing on decades of on-the-ground experience as a high level negotiator in bodies such as the World Trade Organization, Tandon challenges prevailing orthodoxy, insisting that, for the vast majority of people, and especially those in the poorer regions of the world, free trade hinders development and visits relentless waves of violence and impoverishment on their lives.

Statement by the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project to 56th Ordinary Session of the Africa Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Banjul, Gambia, 21 April 2015

I appreciate to make your case. I am happy to hear you refer to pragmatic PanAfricanism. Whatever cannot be built piece-by-piece is a project at-risk. Only a Napoleon of sorts can build such a continental government.

Some of the hurdles to a united Africa - and I use "united" with reservation - are language/cultural diversity, dictatorial or corrupt politicians, religious extremism, and perceptions of racial divide between black and Arab Africa.

The United States of America was practically envisioned to be a unity of white, English-speaking, Christian, free-market and democracy loving immigrants. The Americans did not have as many hurdles as we Africans.

Let's be pragmatic about our future, Africa !

Saint John
[email][email protected]

His fearlessness in the face of violence, torture and even threats of death meant that he carried the message against the planet-plundering oil companies around the world, speaking truth to power, no matter the price.

A lot of questions remain unanswered about Kenya’s 700-kilometer wall now being constructed on the Somali border ostensibly to keep out Al Shabaab militants. The consequences are serious for the Somali people in Kenya and across the border. It is an apartheid idea derived from Kenya’s military partners: America and Israel.

Burundi is burning. If the UN, the international community and the African Union don’t act quickly, and prepare to intervene if necessary, the small East African nation could explode into a full-scale civil war that will destabilize the entire Great Lakes region.

Maybe President Zuma and his xenophobic countrymen are right, after all. Why would a Nigerian close his barber shop in Karmo ghetto to go operate the same in Soweto? Why would a second degree holder prefer to travel to Johannesburg to be a cabbie when that line of business would have been more profitable in Lagos?

The only supreme quality of Tory that was left unexpressed by these endorsers-cum-cheerleaders is his ability to walk on water or raise Bob Marley or Claudia Jones from the realm of the ancestors.

Durban has made a bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, the city is built on a foundation of race and class inequality, leading to xenophobic attacks and unrest. Before Durban is ready to host any international events, it must become the strong African citizen it has promised to be by treating all of its citizens equally.

While plenty of anger has been targeted at South Africa, in Kenya the Uhuru Kenyatta administration’s reactions to Al Shabaab attacks have resulted in deepening anti-Somali and anti-Islam sentiments, thereby weakening the nation’s ability to build a united and effective response to the terror group.

We have seen our fellow women in South Africa take part in the looting and killing of helpless fellow Africans. What example are they setting for the South African girl-child?

Nelson Mandela was welcomed to Ethiopia with open arms during his time in exile. He was given a handgun, a gift that meant a great deal to him and which may have been the ANC military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe's first weapon. Now Ethiopians and other Africans are being murdered by the liberated South Africans.

The life expectancy of Zambians is between 48 and 56 years. So it doesn't make sense to raise retirement age to 65. Importantly, a law should be passed to enable retirees to get their pensions fast and easily.

Many black South Africans are yet to enjoy the freedom dividend. This is the primary source of their frustration that needs to be addressed urgently. As one of Africa’s leading nations, the country should also intensify its efforts to realize the dream of pan-Africanism.

The law that attempts to address a serious human rights abuse like child and forced marriage would then also target Malawians for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Often, it is the economic and environmental conditions that too many people are living in that fuel frustration, anger and intolerance.

His arrest reportedly followed an interview he gave to the BBC on 16th April 2015, during which he discussed recent executions by Somaliland authorities, and the need for judicial reforms in the de facto autonomous state.

The writer asks the commission to uphold the independence of the judiciary in Kenya and fight the continuous undermining of the constitution and the judiciary by president Kenyatta, the executive and the parliament.

South African universities are a microcosm of the society. Recent events at these institutions are symptomatic of a wider social malaise deriving from failure of social transformation and incomplete reconciliation and restorative post-apartheid justice.

Employers taking advantage of legal loopholes has resulted in a workforce that is so desperate to earn money they are taking on part-time and temporary jobs with no benefits.

When Barack Obama visits Kenya in July, he will no doubt mention Garissa and condemn Al-Shabaab as evil cowards who have no regard for human life. But he won’t mention how the United States has helped to kill up to 1 million people in Somalia through war and starvation – with the help of Kenya.

It was 'good morning' the usual way
sounded just the same
full of energy
of life's promises
nothing could be guessed on that 14th day 2014.

You downed your cup of tea
your piece of yam
you kept some
knowing tomorrow was yet to come
you smiled your see-you-later smile.

Evening came
you did not return
a day passed, days
months
Today 14th April 2015 makes it a year.

The yam has grown moulds
like the waiting in our hearts and longing in our eyes
as we reach for a flicker of possibility
buried under the silence that surrounds your disappearance
we refuse the moulds to cover it...

Today we light a candle
not in memory my sisters - no
we light this candle to stand with you
we light this candle to keep the flicker brighter
we light this candle to evoke spirits of resilience and justice.

(My heart goes out to each single girl,
to each single parent of these girls and
their entire families.)

* Hilda Twongyeirwe is Executive Director, Uganda Women Writers Association - FEMRITE.

Health difficulties did not deter Blaauw from pursuing basic rights for all fishers. Despite his persistent efforts to advance the fishers’ struggle, Blaauw himself was a struggling fisherman at the time of his death.

Despite the bravado routinely displayed by government officials and their backers every time a deadly al Shabaab attack happens, in reality the Somali-based terrorist group has fully exposed Kenya’s deep security weaknesses. Now everyone lives in mortal fear.

The attacks on African migrants in South Africa are connected to oppression of poor black people in general. To prevent the poor from organizing and standing up to their real enemies, the state is tacitly encouraging violence against foreigners.

The newly elected President of Nigeria, H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, should act expeditiously to #bringbackourgirls and enforce security to ensure women and girls are no longer subjected to abductions, sexual violence and loss of life.

The mere fact that a US leader - the first in 11 consecutive presidents - should condescend to shake the hand of the Cuban head of state is not really anything to get too excited about.

The captured young Chibok women do not only belong to Nigeria; they belong to the Afrikan continent. So it is the responsibility of every Afrikan to work for their safe return and reintegration into their community.

MUHURI and Haki Africa amongst 85 individuals and institutions that are to be notified of the intention to list them as a ''terrorist entity'' under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012.

The feminist organization expresses deep concern about the rising levels of fundamentalisms that continue to oppress women and girls and relegate the gains made in the women’s rights struggle. The kidnap of the girls reinforces the notion of using women’s bodies as weapons of war.

Kenya’s counter-terrorism strategies are woefully ineffective and counterproductive, as the repeated murderous attacks show. Only sound approaches and implementation of long-delayed security sector reforms will protect the people from the al-Shabaab menace.

Nigerian elections are always marred by logistical problems, poor policing and episodes of violence. But by far the biggest failure is that of the police. Future election planning should exclude the police and instead deploy the defence forces.

In the absence of representation of the Repatriate Diasporan Community at the 8th PAC in Accra, Ghana, last month, the cry for a ‘law of return’ was successfully side-stepped and instead plans were proposed to restrict involvement of repatriates to certain organisations only, thereby facilitating infiltration, manipulation and sabotage.

Even though there have been monumental changes within the political and economic system within the U.S. and the world since the slave period, fundamentally the U.S. is still a class dominated society with the corporations and banks controlling all social institutions.

Unions must link with people and organisations beyond the formal workplace to become the voice of the excluded.

Glebelands is an African National Congress stronghold. But the cost of the ruling party’s dogged determination to entrench one man’s position in the face of years of community struggle for his redeployment has been incalculable and utterly iniquitous.

Attempts by regional states to hijack this unique political gathering again expose how governments seek to co-opt the global justice movement.